Barry Whitbread (born c. 1949)[2] is an English coach who led the Singapore national football team to the country's first ever international trophy in association football, the 1998 AFF Championship.
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Date of birth | c. 1949 (age 72–73) | ||
| Place of birth | England | ||
| Position(s) | Forward | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 1971–1973 | Lancaster City | 120 | (51) |
| 1973–1979 | Runcorn | ||
| 1979–1982 | Altrincham[1] | 94 | (34) |
| National team | |||
| 1979–1981 | England semi-pro | 6 | (2) |
| Teams managed | |||
| 1988–1990 | Runcorn | ||
| 1996–1998 | Singapore | ||
| *Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||
Whitbread played football as a forward for Lancaster City in the Northern Premier League while a student at Lancaster University. He scored a hat-trick on his debut for the club, and scored their early goal in what became a 2–1 defeat to Football League opponents Notts County in the first round proper of the 1972–73 FA Cup.[3] Transferred nearer home for a fee of £250, Whitbread's 29 goals helped Runcorn to the Northern Premier League title in the 1975–76 season.[4] After scoring 181 career goals for Runcorn, he joined Altrincham in 1979 for a club record fee of £6,400. He helped the club reach the 1982 FA Trophy final, in which he made his final appearance as a player, on the losing side.[1][2]
Whitbread was a member of the first ever England team at semi-professional level. He won six caps, scoring twice, between 1979 and 1981.[5][6]
Whitbread trained as a teacher before moving into football management, having gained his coaching qualifications while still a player.[2] He was assistant manager of Northwich Victoria,[3] then manager of Runcorn from 1988 to 1990,[4] and also coached in the United States.[7] He took the job as Singapore national football team coach in 1996. Two years later, his team written off before it started,[8] Whitbread led Singapore to victory in the 1998 Tiger Cup (now known as the AFF Suzuki Cup), their first ever success in an international football competition.[9]
On his return to England he worked at Liverpool's Youth Academy, becoming head of recruitment, a post he held until 2007.[7][10] He went on to act as chief scout for clubs including Blackburn Rovers[11] and Bolton Wanderers.[12]
His son Zak, born in Houston, Texas, while Whitbread was working in the US, became a professional footballer after developing in the Liverpool academy.[7][13] Zak now plays for Shrewsbury Town.
Singapore national football team – managers | |
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